The Medicine Game

Director: Lukas KorverYear: 2013Running Time: 80 minutes

Synopsis
Tucked away in central New York State is the Onondaga Nation, a sovereign Native American community known to produce some of the top lacrosse players in the world. Yet, the fear of leaving their community, substance abuse, and poverty have kept far too many of these players from venturing off the “Rez” and into the collegiate or professional ranks. The Iroquois people play a ceremonial game of lacrosse, referred to as the “medicine game”—a very important medicine ceremony played to ward off sicknesses from the tribe. The Medicine Game, a film six years in the making, shares the remarkable journey of two brothers from the Onondaga Nation driven by a single goal—to beat the odds and play the sport of lacrosse for national powerhouse Syracuse University. The obstacles in their way are frequent and daunting, but the brothers’ love for the game, each other, and their family’s unyielding determination propels these young men towards their dream.